[announce] OASIS Member News: CECID Launches Test Site of OASIS ebXMLV2 Registry

[Carol Geyer <carol.geyer@oasis-open.org>]

CECID Launches Test Site of OASIS ebXML V2 Registry Reference
Implementation

Hong Kong, Peoples Republic of China -- April 8th, 2002 -- Center for
E-Commerce Infrastructure Development (CECID), Department of Computer
Science Information Systems, The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is
pleased to announce today the immediate availability of an OASIS ebXML
V2 Registry. This implementation of the OASIS ebXML V2
Registry/Repository (ebXMLRR) standard fully implements all functions of
the standard and is currently in its beta release version. CECID
encourages developers interested in developing ebXML related products
and services to use this implementation for testing purposes. The HKU
ebXML Registry is available at
http://registry.csis.hku.hk:8201/ebxmlrr/registry through Registry
client software.

The OASIS ebXML V2 Registry/Repository standard is emerging as a key
component of developing Web Services for e-commerce and many other uses.
The OASIS ebXML Registry/Repository is a general registry, which can be
used not only for business but also for any other organization or entity
and for any purpose. The OASIS standard accomplished this generality
because it uses a generic and extensible information model that can be
adapted to many uses. This information model includes the ability to
have arbitrary associations between entries in the registry.
Furthermore, the standard includes a repository, which is a way of
storing information about entries in the registry. Any type of data can
be stored in repository including Web Service descriptions, XML data and
documents, binary data (such as images, sound files, video data,
executable application files, CAD files etc.), and any other kind of
data. Using the registry, this data can be searched and classified using
advanced ad hoc query mechanisms such as XML filter query and SQL query.
Consequently, the OASIS ebXML Registry /Repository standard enables a
powerful and flexible registry that can be deployed as a public
registry, a private registry used within an organization, or a registry
shared by an organization and its partners. The OASIS ebXML Registry
specifications are available at
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/regrep/documents/2.0/specs.

The code for this implementation of the OASIS ebXML V2
Registry/Repository standard is based on an international collaboration
with developers from around the world who are jointly participating in
an open source community project hosted at Source Forge. The initial
code base for the ebXMLRR project at Source Forge originated from a
donation by Sun Microsystems Inc. to the open source development
community of an internal implementation developed at Sun. Sun donated
the code to the ebXMLRR project at Source Forge in November of 2001.
Since then, an international community of developers committed to open
international standards has worked together to complete this
implementation of the OASIS ebXML Registry/Repository standard. The
ebXMLRR project is available at http://ebxmlrr.sourceforge.net.

Researchers and developers from CECID were significant contributors to
the open source ebXMLRR implementation project at Source Forge and are
pleased to take the lead in hosting a publicly accessible test registry
based on the ebXMLRR project at Source Forge. CECID will operate the
registry on a trial basis in Q2CY02 under the auspices of its Project
Phoenix, which is sponsored by the Innovation and Technology Commission
of the Hong Kong Government, to establish an ebXML software
infrastructure in Hong Kong.

Project Phoenix also involves other lead technology users in the
industry as project sponsors and collaborators. MTRC, the major subway
system operator in Hong Kong, and Saggio, a large office supplies
provider in Asia, have started a pilot project to conduct automatic
e-procurement of office supplies. Later, additional parties such as Hong
Kong Airport Cargo Terminals Limited will join the pilot. The Hong Kong
Chamber of Commerce has also planned to operate the registry in trial
mode in CY03. Information on CECID and Project Phoenix is available on
http://www.cecid.hku.hk.

In addition to the OASIS ebXML V2 Registry implementation, the ebXMLRR
project at Source Forge is also developing a client user interface. The
client software provides a unique user interface (UI) for graphically
visualizing registry content. The client software is currently in an
alpha release. A guided tour of the registry is available by launching
the client UI of the registry as described at
http://ebxmlrr.sourceforge.net/registryBrowserGuide/registryBrowserGuide
.html .

The ebXMLRR UI client software is based on the Java API for XML
Registries ('JAXR') which is being developed through the Java
Specification Request (JSR) process of the Java Community ProcessSM
(JCP) as JSR 93. JAXR provides a single standard Java API that allows
Java programmers to interact with emerging standards for XML Registries
including both ebXML Registry and UDDI. The ebXMLRR UI client software
also uses the Java API for XML Messaging ('JAXM') in order to send SOAP
based messages between the client software and the registry. These SOAP
messages are used to send requests to the OASIS ebXML Registry and to
receive responses from the registry.

Since both the registry and the client software are based on Java and
XML, the implementations are portable across platforms and operating
systems, and can also interoperate with implementations on other
platforms and written in other languages.

About CECID (http://www.cecid.hku.hk):
Established in January 2002, the Center for E-Commerce Infrastructure
Development (CECID) at the University of Hong Kong conducts e-commerce
research and development with the vision of helping Hong Kong increase
its competitiveness in the international arena. CECID has the missions
to develop e-commerce enabling technologies, to join important
international e-commerce initiatives, to support e-commerce
standardization for Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific Region, and to
transfer e-commerce technology and skills to the community. As an OASIS
member, CECID is participating in the standardization projects, such as
ebXML and Universal Business Language (UBL). CECID also collaborates
with a number of lead technology users in the Asia Pacific Region on the
application of advanced e-commerce technologies in the industry.

About ebXML (http://www.ebxml.org):
The mission of ebXML is to provide an open XML-based infrastructure
enabling the global use of electronic business information in an
interoperable, secure and consistent manner by all parties. ebXML
(Electronic Business using Extensible Markup Language), sponsored by
UN/CEFACT and OASIS, is a modular suite of specifications that enables
enterprises of any size and in any geographical location to conduct
business over the Internet. Using ebXML, companies now have a standard
method to exchange business messages, conduct trading relationships,
communicate data in common terms and define and register business
processes.

About OASIS (http://www.oasis-open.org):
OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
Standards) is a not-for-profit, global consortium that drives the
development, convergence and adoption of e-business standards. Members
themselves set the OASIS technical agenda, using a lightweight, open
process expressly designed to promote industry consensus and unite
disparate efforts. OASIS produces worldwide standards for security, Web
services, XML conformance, business transactions, electronic publishing,
topic maps and interoperability within and between marketplaces.

About the Java Community Process (JCP) Program (http://www.jcp.org):
Since its introduction in 1995 as the open, inclusive process to develop
and revise Java technology specifications, reference implementations,
and technology compatibility kits, the Java Community Process program
has fostered the evolution of the Java platform in cooperation with the
international Java developer community. More than 90 Java technology
specifications are in development in the JCP program, which has over 350
company and individual participants.

About Sun Microsystems (http://www.sun.com):
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- The Network Is The
ComputerTM -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW), to
its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware,
software and services that power the Internet and allow companies
worldwide to dot-com their businesses. With $19.2 billion in annual
revenues, Sun can be found in more than 170 countries.

For more information:
Dorris Tai (cwtai@csis.hku.hk)
Business Manager
Center for E-Commerce Infrastructure Development (CECID)
Dept. of Computer Science & Information Systems
The University of Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2859 2818
Fax: +852 2547 4611
URL: http://www.cecid.hku.hk